Biker jailed for killing wife in reckless manoeuvre

A Portsmouth man has been jailed for 40 months for causing the death of his wife following a motorcycle crash.

Disqualified driver Kristof Fairley was illegally riding a powerful Kawasaki sports bike with his new bride Ashley as a pillion passenger when the fatal accident occurred.

Fairley clipped a kerb after undertaking traffic on a busy filter lane and subsequently crashed into a Ford Focus the very same day he had purchased the bike.

The 27-year-old suffered only minor injuries and ran back to the scene of the accident to find his wife lying in the road.

Ashley was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital, in Cosham, where she later died from head injuries.

The court heard that she had been wearing a crash helmet while riding on the bike, but that it had come off in the collision.

As well as his custodial sentence, Fairley was handed a six-year driving ban after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.

He had previously been banned from the roads in 2009 for dangerous driving and had not sat the extended course required to get his licence back. He had also never held a motorbike licence at the time of the fatal crash, which occurred in January.

Addressing Fairley, Judge Roger Hetherington, sentencing, said: "It was a reckless manoeuvre which created a significant risk of danger," reported the Portsmouth News.

Ashley's family reacted angrily to the sentence. "I honestly thought he would get five years," her mother, Cindy Pilmoor, told the News.

"I thought he would be done for it very badly for killing my daughter."

Ashley's uncle Rob Pilmoor added: "I am very angry and frustrated that someone could do this to someone they love."

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